Santa Rosa Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program

In 2019, the Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) reported that 15.4% of all of their 137,970 calls for service involved persons with severe mental illness, including the homeless. Additionally, the Santa Rosa Fire Department, which serves as Santa Rosa’s first responder for medical calls for service, reports that 12% (3,224 of 26,458) of its total calls are homeless related.  Santa Rosa Police Department (SRPD) partners with social services and mental health service providers to establish a Justice and Mental Health Collaboration Program called inResponse, a mobile crisis response team that will fill critical gaps in law enforcement response to vulnerable communities, specifically those with individuals experiencing homelessness, substance abuse, and mental health challenges.  The program is modeled after the success of the 30-year crisis intervention CAHOOTS Program in Eugene, Oregon.   
Using the CAHOOTS model, SRPD partners with social services and mental health service providers to sustain the pilot program that had its soft launch in January 2022. The inResponse team, who works alongside SRPD, is a multi-disciplinary mobile crisis intervention service integrated into the City of Santa Rosa’s public safety system and consists of a Firefighter-Paramedic, a licensed mental health clinician, and a homeless outreach specialist on each team who are supported a wrap-around support services providers.